Oh No! Windows 8 My Kinect…

We’ve taken a look at some gaming innovations with Kinect, now let’s jump to where the future of computing is headed. Microsoft’s next operating system, Windows 8, is going to be completely touch controlled. If you love your iPad or tablet PC, you’re gonna love what’s coming. Check out the demo video below or read the full article here.

What’s great about this is the way the running applications are integrated for seamless control and viewing. You can arrange your screen layout in a variety of ways, very simply with one finger. And be sure to check out the keyboard layout for the touch screen! Ya gotta love the “thumbs” design.

What’s so exciting about the touch screen for laptops and PCs, you may ask? Well, for me, the part where that includes integration of the Metro user interface, which is conveniently optimized for touch and Kinect-based gestures. I wonder how well this will work and how lazy we all may become if we don’t even need to TOUCH our computers to operate them?!? But seriously, it would be a brilliant implementation of the Kinect technology. And Microsoft has the project well under way.

The hardware alterations necessary for a Windows-optimized Kinect include shortening the USB cable “to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers,” Craig Eisler, general manager of Kinect for Windows, wrote in a Nov. 22 posting on the Kinect for Windows blog. In addition, the upgrade will feature “a small dongle to improve coexistence with other USB peripherals.” New firmware will optimize the camera to accurately focus on objects at ranges up to 50 centimeters.

Microsoft is also already talking about Windows 8 being the OS on the next Xbox – you can read the full article here. So while there has been conjecture about whether Kinect would be integrated into Windows 8, now it looks like Windows 8 may actually become part of the Xbox. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see which comes first!

What do you think about the possiblity of your computer including Kinect? What would/will you use it for?